Sword
/ | special = | item_melee = | item_defense = | item_mana = | item_enchantments = | artifact_melee = | artifact_defense = | artifact_to_hit = | artifact_mana = | artifact_enchantments = }} :This article is about the Magical Item type called "Sword". For the icons representing attack strength, see Melee Attack. A Sword is a type of Magical Item which can be equipped on any Hero possessing an appropriate slot. The bonuses on the Sword will enhance that Hero's performance, particularly his/her Melee Attack. As with any Magical Item, Swords can have a total mix of up to 4 different bonuses and/or Item Powers. Swords differ from other melee weapons thanks to a higher potential bonus. A Sword without a Defense bonus is normally inferior to a Mace or an Axe. As with any other melee weapon, Swords can receive Item Powers that alter the Hero's attack, making it more dangerous in one way or another. Very few Swords will alter a Hero's Ranged Attack or other attack types (if he/she has any at all), and that is always thanks to specific Item Powers. Description A fairly "new" weapon as melee weapons go, the straight Sword (or "longsword") was developed during the late bronze age, when metal-making techniques allows creating a long-bladed weapon that was strong enough not to break whenever used. Swords are used in various ways, particularly for stabbing and slashing, and can both cut limbs and pierce through armor. More importantly for Master of Magic, the Sword's long metal blade also allows blocking enemy strikes - an action referred to as "parrying", which is not possible with other melee weapons. This confers some protection in hand-to-hand combat. The Basic Item The Sword is one of many possible Magical Item types in Master of Magic. Magical Items can be Crafted by a wizard (tailored to the specific needs of a Hero under the wizard's employ), or found as rewards for defeating a suitably-dangerous Encounter (in which case the item already has a set of pre-defined bonuses). Any Sword can be equipped on a Hero, if said Hero possesses an appropriate weapon slot. Swords can only fit into the following slots: : Sword Slot : Bow Slot : Sword & Staff Slot Heroes that do not possess any of the above slots may never be equipped with a Sword. When any Sword is equipped on a Hero, that Hero's becomes a . The only effect this has is that the Hero no longer triggers any Weapon Immunity possessed by target creatures when making a Melee Attack on those creatures. It does not confer a bonus like confer to Normal Units. Any additional attack strength bonuses on a Sword will only apply to the Hero's . Any Item Powers imbued into a Sword that directly alter the Hero's attack, such as adding Special Damage to it, also apply only to the Hero's Melee Attack. A few Item Powers, however, have a complex effect that can end up altering the Hero's other attacks, if he/she has any. Crafting a Sword It is possible to create a new Sword (like any other Magical Item) using the Item Crafting process. This is initiated by casting either the Enchant Item spell or the Create Artifact spell, though there are differences in the potential strength of the new Sword depending on which spell is chosen. During Item Crafting it is possible to select a Sword as the type of Magical Item being created. This sets the default cost of casting the item-crafting spell to . Once the Sword is selected, the Item Crafting menu will show all bonuses and Item Powers that can be imbued into it. Click the desired options to add them to the weapon, or click a selected option to remove it. Regardless of which item-crafting spell was selected, a Sword can only take up to 4 different bonuses and/or Item Powers - just like any other item in the game. Each additional bonus will increases the value of the item by a set amount. The more powerful the bonus or enchantment, the more it raises the item's value (see list below). An item with higher value costs more to create, and thus may take more than one turn to complete. Swords have a distinct advantage over other Melee weapons in that they can give a significant bonus. This can be very important for Melee-oriented Heroes who lack Agility, giving them better survivability in hand-to-hand combat. If a strong piece of armor cannot be acquired, a Sword can make up for the lack of . With both a strong defensive Sword and a good armor piece, a Hero can become very hard to kill. Enchant Item The Enchant Item spell limits the strength of the bonuses that can be imbued into a Sword, and also the types of Item Powers that can be added to it. Due to these limitations, there is little reason (in game terms) to use Enchant Item to create any other kind of weapon - though there are exceptions. Swords can carry the same Item Powers as other weapons, and a better bonus. If bonuses aren't important, of course, you may always create a Mace or an Axe for personal taste. The primary exception is, of course, when creating a weapon for a Hero that has a . In this case, if you make an Axe, all bonuses on that Axe go to both attack types, and confer a great advantage to the Hero. This comes at the expense of the Sword's possible bonuses, but then again Heroes often rely less on good Defense and more on a strong Offense. Available Bonuses Available Item Powers Create Artifact The Create Artifact spell allows Swords to be imbued with much more powerful bonuses and/or Item Powers. Certain limitations still apply, based mainly on the type and number of Spellbooks you possess, and the amount of you wish to spend on creating the item. When using Create Artifact, there is merit to creating any kind of melee weapon. Unlike with Enchant Item (see above), Swords, Maces and Axes each have some advantage over the others. As mentioned earlier, the Sword's primary advantage is its high bonuses available, for which it pays with lower bonuses available. If possible, make good use of this by adding a strong Defense bonus to your new Sword. The Create Artifact spell is not inherently more expensive than Enchant Item, it only allows purchasing more expensive bonuses and Item Powers. It is possible to create the same (low-value) Sword with both spells at no extra cost. Thus, if Create Artifact is available, there is no reason to use Enchant Item at all. Available Bonuses Available Item Powers Acquiring a Pre-Defined Sword The game data files contain 250 items that were designed by Simtex - each with its own pre-set name, bonuses and/or Item Powers. 28 of these items are Swords. There are three different ways by which you can acquire one of these pre-defined Swords: * By winning a difficult Encounter. * By purchasing it from a traveling Item Merchant. * As result of a random Event called "The Gift". It is often better to acquire items in this way, as it means you do not need to spend any time or to create them. However, since the offered item is chosen at random, and since all 250 items have pre-defined bonuses and enchantments, you may or may not receive an item that's really suitable to your needs. Furthermore, many of the pre-defined items possess Item Powers that cannot legally be added to them via Item Crafting. Swords as Treasure Whenever an Encounter zone of sufficient difficulty level is cleared of its initial defenders, the winning army may receive a Sword (or any other Magical Item) as a reward. The game may select (at random) any item whose total value does not exceed the remaining treasure points given by the Encounter. Thus, the more difficult the Encounter, the more potential there is to receive a high-value item. If the selected item's value is significantly lower than the remaining treasure points, the game will try to select additional rewards (possibly more items). Swords from Item Merchants Item Merchants have a certain chance to appear at the start of any overland turn. This chance is primarily influenced by the wizard's current score. When the roll dictates that a Merchant should appear, the game selects an item at random from the entire list of all 250 pre-set items. Item Merchants will only offer the selected item if the wizard has 3 times as much as the value of the item itself. Charismatic wizards need only 1.5 times as much as the item's value, since they pay half-price for any item. If you lack sufficient Gold at the start of the turn, the Item Merchant will simply not appear this turn. Swords as Gifts Finally, an Event called "The Gift" may occur at random at the start of any overland turn, bestowing a Sword (or any other Magical Item) to your wizard, for no cost whatsoever. This event can choose any of the 250 pre-defined items, including any of the 28 available Swords. List of Pre-Defined Swords Below is a list of each Sword present in the default game-data files. The ItemMake program which is supplied with the game allows users to alter the list of pre-set items at will: you can change any of these items (within the same constraints as those of a Create Artifact spell), add new ones, or remove existing ones from the list. Therefore the list below may or may not match your game-files. * This Item Power cannot be added to a Sword when Crafting Items. For explanations on what it does, see the Item Crafting article. Category:Magical Items Category:Swords